The Round Tablette Founding Editor: James W. Gerber, MD (1951–2009)

Thursday, 14 April 2016 canceled in April 1944. Devers would not al- 29:10 Volume 29 Number 10 low ANVIL to die and refused to re-allocate Published by WW II History Round Table supplies and equipment already gathered for Edited by Dr. Connie Harris the invasion. Eisenhower also would not allow www.mn-ww2roundtable.org ANVIL to die, believing it was best to be fight- ing the Germans on as many fronts as possible. Welcome to the first April meeting of It was officially resurrected on June 24, 1944 the Dr. Harold C. Deutsch as DRAGOON after the forces in Normandy II History Round Table. Tonight’s speaker became bogged down. The invasion took place is Lieutenant Scott Wheeler, author of on August 14th, 1944. Jacob L. Devers. He will be joined by veterans of the Seventh Army, who will discuss the over- Although not as large as the Normandy looked Rhone Valley Campaign. forces, Devers had much to work with in the invasion: General Alexander Patch’s 7th Tonight’s discussion focuses on the Allied Army consisting of the US VI (US 3rd, campaign in southern which was largely 36th, and 45th Infantry Divisions and French 1st overshadowed by the campaigns in Italy and Armored) under the command of General Lu- Normandy. Controversy also swirls around its cian Truscott along with The First French significance in the overall Allied strategy and Army, composed of 7 divisions from the Army whether it was truly needed or just diminished of Africa under Gen. Jean de Lattre de Tas- the strength of other efforts in Italy and northern signy.. These were all well-seasoned veterans France. of North Africa, Sicily and the Italian cam- Planning for the invasion of France began in paigns.. 1942, and at first it was believed that there After the initial landings in the south, Tr- would be two components, Operation ANVIL in uscott and the other commanders moved southern France would be done simultaneously quickly out of the beachhead wanting to pre- with the Normandy landing, Operation vent another Anzio disaster. Opposing the Al- SLEDGEHAMMER. The original idea for this lied forces was the Wehrmacht’s Army Group two pronged attack came from General George G, commanded by Lieutenant General Jo- Marshall at the 1942 Tehran Conference and hannes Blaskowitz, a cobbled together force of was supported by Stalin because it kept the older veterans and undermanned units, with British and the out of the Balkans. the only one Army, the 19th under the com- Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill ob- mand of Frederick Weise. The Germans were jected to the invasion of southern France believ- thinly spread along the coast. American and ing it would divert forces away from the Italian French forces were able to quickly take the campaign, and he also wanted an allied invasion ports of Toulon and Marseilles, then VI Corps of the Balkans to deny Germany oil supplies, moved north, linking up with other DRA- slow down the advance of the Soviet’s Red GOON units. Throughout their north advance, Army and to gain a better negotiating position in logistics and supplies, particularly fuel, would post-war Europe. French leaders insisted that be a constant problem. ANVIL take place and that French troops play a role in the invasion. The rapid retreat of the Wehrmacht’s Nine- teenth Army resulted in swift gains for the When Eisenhower left the Mediterranean DRAGOON forces and they dashed northward Theater to take charge of the overall Allied Ex- to take Lyon. Within a month of the initial peditionary forces at Normandy, Lieutenant landings Patch’s 7th Army advanced almost 400 General Jacob Devers became the Deputy The- miles up the Rhone River Valley to link up ater Commander under its new chief British with the Third Army to create a solid wall of General Sir Henry Maitland. While in the Allied forces from Antwerp to the Swiss bor- Mediterranean, Devers pushed for preparations der. for ANVIL, the invasion of southern France. Because of the Normandy invasion (SLEDGE- At that juncture, the forces were reorganized HAMMER/OVERLORD) and the demands of into the 6th Army Group under the command of the Pacific for amphibious vessels ANVIL was Devers. Eisenhower also decided to make the

If you are a veteran, or know a veteran, of one of these campaigns – contact Don Patton at cell 612-867-5144 or [email protected] The Round Tablette 14 April 2016 — 2 Allies’ main efforts in the North with British Honor Flight - Jerry Kyser - crazyjerry45@hot- General’s Bernard Montgomery’s forces, while mail - 651-338-2717 Devers, at the extreme south would have to CAF - Commemorative Air Force - www.cafm- n.org 651-455-6942 make do. Minnesota Air Guard Museum - www.mnangmu- October 1944 proved to be a difficult month seum.org 612-713-2523 th Friends of Ft. Snelling, www.fortsnelling.org for Devers 6 Army Group with a slow advance Fagen Fighters WWII Museum, Granite Falls, MN, through the Vosges Mountains and continuing 320-564-6644, http://www.fagenfighterswwiimuseum.org. supply shortages. However, in November, they World Without Genocide, 651-695-7621, http:// made the most significant gain along the Allied www.worldwithoutgenocide.org/ lines in Western Europe by taking Strasbourg on Airshow - Eden Prairie - 16-17 July 2016 November 23rd. Even with the continued success www.wotn.org 952-746-6100 th Fort Snelling Weekend, 20-21 Aug. of the 6 Army Group, in December, 2016 Eisenhower, once again, decided to have his Military History Book Club, Har Mar Barnes & main efforts in the North with secondary attacks Noble: 27 Apr. Boneman, Amer. Spring … Road to in the South. Revolution - [email protected]

Considered a success by the Allies, DRA- We need volunteers to drive our veterans to and GOON allowed for the liberation of most of from meetings. Please contact Don Patton at cell France in six weeks, and provided for the largest 612-867-5144 or [email protected] French military action since 1940. Even so, it is Round Table Schedule 2016 not without its critics, especially from those who 28 Apr. OSS Maritime Units — First SEALS believed it took away from their own operations, 12 May Start of Cold War like Bernard Montgomery to the north and Mark Clark in Italy. One has to wonder though, if Dever’s had been given more fuel and supplies how much further he could have gone. Maybe southern France really was Europe’s “soft-un- derbelly” of Churchill’s dreams. Further Readings: James Scott Wheeler, Jacob L. Devers: A Gen- eral’s Life (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2015). William Breuer, : The Allied LTGs Truscott, Patch, and Devers, Oct. 1944 (USArmy) Invasion of the South of France (: Presidio Press, 1996). Steven J. Zaloga, Operation Dragoon 1944: France’s Other D-Day (Oxford, U.K.: Osprey Publishing, 2009). Jean-Loup Gassend, Autopsy of a Battle: The Allied Liberation of the French Riviera (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2004). Anthony Tucker-Jones, Operation Dragoon: The Liberation of Southern France, 1944 (South Yorkshire, U.K.: Pen & Sword, 2010). Jeffrey J. Clarke and Rovert R. Smith, in World War II, European Theater of Operations; Riviera to the (, DC: USGPO, 1993). Announcements: Twin Cities Civil War Round Table - May 17, 2016 – Lee’s Dilemma - www.tccwrt.com - [email protected] com St Croix Valley Civil War Round Table - Apr. 25, 2016 – Charleston & Civil War - 715-386-1268 – [email protected] Minnesota Military Museum, Camp Ripley, 15000 Hwy 115, Little Falls, MN 56345, 320-616-6050, http://www.mnmilitarymuseum.org/

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